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Recipe Resuscitation: Buffalo Chicken Dip

With Super Bowl Sunday around the corner, you may be
starting to plan your game day menu. Few
foods are as commonly associated with this occasion as buffalo wings. Buffalo chicken dip is a popular variant of
this classic dish and incorporates all of the flavors of buffalo wings into a
warm, creamy dip that goes perfectly with fresh veggies and chips.

Traditional buffalo chicken dip is very high in calories and
fat from a mixture of cream cheese, bottled Ranch or Blue cheese dressing and loads of
shredded cheese. I decided to perform a
recipe resuscitation on this crowd-pleasing dish to shave some calories and fat
without sacrificing flavor. Here’s how I
did it:

Swap in Neufchatel cheese instead
of traditional cream cheese. It has less
calories and 1/3 less fat than regular cream cheese but still has great flavor and a nice creamy
texture. It melts very well and is a
good healthy option for dishes such as hot dips and creamy pasta sauces.

Nonfat Greek yogurt instead of bottled Ranch or Blue Cheese
Dressing. Greek yogurt adds a great
tangy flavor that complements the spicy hot sauce but with none of the fat and only a fraction of the sodium of bottled dressings.
Plus, Greek yogurt is naturally thick and creamy (even the nonfat
variety), packed with protein and low in carbohydrates. To read more about Greek yogurt, CLICK HERE.

Dried spices to add flavor.
Because I don’t use a prepared salad dressing, I up the flavor by
stirring in dried spices like garlic powder and onion powder. This also cuts down on sodium. Remember to use garlic and onion powder, not
garlic or onion salt.

No shredded cheese in the dip. Many buffalo chicken dip recipes stir a lot
of shredded cheese into the dip. I found
the texture of the dip from the Neuchatel cheese and yogurt to be rich and
creamy enough that it didn’t need any extra cheese. But for you cheese lovers out there, feel
free to sprinkle some shredded cheddar cheese or crumbled blue cheese on top.

So try this quick and easy dish on Super Bowl Sunday or for your next party. You can even prepare the whole thing in advance and simply heat it up when your guests arrive. It's definitely a crowd pleaser and your guests will love it even more when you tell them that it's healthy!

Mix the softened cheese and yogurt together in a large
bowl until smooth. Stir in the hot
sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, chicken, scallions and pepper.

Pour the dip into a baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes
until bubbly. If desired, you can top
the dish with cheese. If using shredded
cheese, sprinkle the cheese on top before baking. If using crumbled blue cheese, sprinkle the
blue cheese on top as soon as you remove the dip from the oven. Garnish with sliced scallions. Serve with baked pita chips or celery and
carrot sticks.

The chicken is one of the main ingredients in this dish so I haven't tried the recipe without it. Tuna would probably be a good alternative. You may want to avoid the blue cheese if using tuna, it may not be the best combination of flavors. Let me know how it turns out!

Thank you very much. I've finally "perfected" my homemade Greek yogurt and use it for almost anything with a creamy texture. Not a fan of bottled dressings either, this very well may make an appearance today. Love your recipe resuscitations as they often make me think outside my usual healthier substitutions.

I made this on the stove today--better than the original! I still used lowfat sour cream. I looked at the ingredients in ranch dressing mix, which most recipes call for. Since that contains buttermilk, I decided to add about 2 tablespoons of powdered instant buttermilk to mine.